(Bloomberg) — Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Meta Platforms Inc. and Apple Inc. are among nearly 70 companies that filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of contested affirmative action programs. at Harvard and the University of North Carolina.
The brief filed Monday argues that corporate diversity, equity and inclusion efforts “depend on college admissions programs that lead to educated graduates in racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds.”
“Only in this way can the United States produce a pool of future highly-skilled workers and business leaders prepared to meet the needs of the modern economy and workforce,” the report said. The cases are the first affirmative action cases to come before the justices since the Conservatives won a 6-3 majority.
A separate report from technology companies is also expected on Monday.
About the same number of companies signing the amicus, or friend of the court, filing affirmative action arguments is a business imperative as in a 2003 case involving the University of Michigan Law School. Fewer have joined similar efforts in two more recent cases involving the University of Texas at Austin.
This time, however, companies risk provoking a conservative backlash against companies that take progressive stances.
Diversity, equity and inclusion advocates say it remains important for the business community to make its voice heard.
“This is the perfect time for the corporate world not to fall by the wayside,” he said. lael chappellthe director of insurance distribution for Coalition, Inc. who works on issues of diversity, equity and inclusion.
changing environment
in the last cases, Fair admission students v. Harvard Y Fair admission students v. University of North CarolinaThe plaintiffs say affirmative action not only harms white applicants, but also amounts to an “anti-Asian penalty.”
UNC responds that race is only one of “dozens of factors” the school “may consider, as it brings together a class that is diverse along numerous dimensions, including geography, military status, and socioeconomic background.”
“Empirical studies confirm that diverse groups make better decisions thanks to greater creativity, idea exchange and precision,” said the companies in support of universities.
“These benefits are not simply intangible; are translated into the results of the companies”, they said.
And the increasingly global nature of business makes diversity even more important today than in the past, the companies argued.
However, the environment has changed considerably in the six years since the Supreme Court last ruled in an affirmative action case.
Shareholders are pressing companies to disclose data on the race and gender of the workforce, he said. heidi welsh, executive director of the Institute for Sustainable Investments, a research group of institutional investors. A separate new push focuses on publishing racial justice commitments, he said.
Weighing politically controversial issues also entails new risks as stakeholders such as employees and legislators push companies in different directions, research group The Conference Board warned in May 2022 report.
The risks were on display this year when the Walt Disney Co. criticized a Florida law that limits what teachers and administrators can talk to young students about sexual orientation after intense pressure from employees.
Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said he viewed Disney’s public comments against the law as a “provocation” and vowed to “fight back.” Weeks later, Florida lawmakers stripped the entertainment giant of its decades-old special tax status.
More recently, Sidley Austin received a letter from a group of Texas state legislators threatening to sue and hold the global law firm’s association criminally liable after announcing that it would pay travel expenses for employees seeking abortions in the states. where they are prohibited. The Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion in June.
“There are so many moving parts,” Chappell said. “You hope for the best, of course. You want to see a world where these things are truly appreciated for the impact they can really have. But it is definitely a period of uncertainty.”